Ball Peen Hammers. You use them for....?

[2oolhound]

Aside from whats been mentioned one thing I like about ball peens is you don't need to be lined up to strike a blow. On a flat faced hammer you need to come down pretty well straight in line with the object but a ball peen will deliver the force even if you deliver the blow from a side angle and sometimes that's the only angle you have. Also as mentioned - peening rivets or any metal. Got an old pair of pliers that the rivet is loose on so they wobble? Lay them on your anvil or heavy piece of steel, place the ball of you 24 oz hammer in the centre of the rivet and come down hard on the flat face of the hammer with your 48 oz hammer. Now try the pliers, if they aren't tight do it again. I like keeping a selection of ball peens above every bench from small to large and will only grab the size needed for specific tasks.

 

[jeejay]

One thing I wouldn't use mine for is prying against anything. All metal handles that are thin in the middle will bend like a nail. They bend back too, but that's obviously pushing it.

 

[tym]

This thread made me realize that I needed more than one ball peen hammer, so I picked up an 8oz on the way home to go with the 12oz I already have.

Thanks!



Like others have said, I use my ball peen(s) for whacking on metal items that aren't nails. If it needs a really big whack, I use a 48oz sledge.

 

[Bockscar]

Whacking the end of a wrench trying to get the oil drain bolt off.

Ditto on the softer face of ball pein hammers vs claw hammers. You always want a hammer face to be softer than whatever you're hitting. Little dents in the hammer are better than shrapnel. Claw hammers generally are the hardest, ball pein, cross pein, engineers, and drilling hammers are all softer.

I like to use dead blows for smacking wrenches..... less blow back

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[WhiskeyRanger]

You might be a millwright if...

 

[gearhead1]

I use the ball to straighten bent beads on car rims. I take a medium ball peen hammer and put against the bead where the rim is bent then hit the flat with another bigger ball peen or mini sledge. Granted, the average person doesn’t bend many rims, but I do demolition derbies and bend quit a few rims when I was circle track racing.

 

[DGersic]

I'm 51 years old, and I've never had a ball peen hammer in my tool chest. Just curious, what specifically do you use them for?

Peening rivets.



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[LXCam]

2.5 pages and no one said it yet....




Peening Fn balls....





Gezzzzzz, you guys are slacking.

 

[Jarhead0408]

Glad to see someone else mention cutting gaskets.

 

[6PTsocket]

One day as I was driving down the highway I passed a car on the side of the road with the hood up and as I glanced over I saw the guy hitting the top of the engine with a claw hammer!

My buddies and I still get a smile out of that one.[emoji106]

So you think he would have looked any smarter with ball peen hammer? LOL!!

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[6PTsocket]

Bashing those pesky pistachio nuts.

Yup.

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[Tonyuk]

Any hammering that doesn't involve nails really.

 

[Parrothead]

I use them on drywall, makes a nice easily fillable dimple without tearing the paper.

 

[4 FN 27]

Peening Fn balls....

Careful with the usage of "FN"...I don't want anyone swinging a Hammer at me or my...

I use them for persuasion...

I have persuaded bolts into holes and out of holes. I have persuaded Angles other then 90° to 90°. I have persuaded 2 pieces of metal to align.

As a kid doing my paper route I once persuaded a dog to quit biting me...with a Hammer...not a Ballpeen but a Slag Hammer. He was ****** and I was ******.

All Hammers are for persuasion.

 

[ephotrod]

On smaller ball peen hammers are great for making gaskets!

 

[Cato]

Shaping metal.

A carpenter's hammer is for wood only.

Isn't the metal composition different for different hammers?

 

[mcbane]

Peening can be also used to stress relieve a weld. Ball peen hammer allows you to peen without making really ugly dents.


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[PFSard]

Isn't the metal composition different for different hammers?

Ball-peen hammer
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ball-peen_hammer

"Ball-peen hammer heads are typically made of heat treated forged high-carbon steel or alloy steel; it is harder than the face of a claw hammer"

 

[metaldad]

stud finder.
a few well placed whacks on sheetrock will reveal where the studs are

 

[dutchgray]

Any hammering that doesn't involve nails really.

That, though I have used one for nails, 3" cut clasps nailing 1 1/4" pine floorboards ďown, didn't have a claw hammer bigger than 20oz at the time, so used my biggest ball pein, which was a 2 lb.

 

[JR 42]

Ball-peen hammer
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ball-peen_hammer

"Ball-peen hammer heads are typically made of heat treated forged high-carbon steel or alloy steel; it is harder than the face of a claw hammer"

Hmmm, that doesn't sound right at all... the citation link goes right to google books, where you can find the full quote, which is even more wrong:

"The steel head of a ball pein hammer is harder than the head of a claw hammer, so it's less likely to chip on contact, which is why it is used for automotive and machine work applications."

 

[jeffmoss26]

Punches, cold chisels, stamping keys...

 

[random_farmhick]

Beating the sh*t out of stuff.And because I'm a mechanic and mechanics don't use claw hammers.We have no use for a claw,very few nails on a car.

I'm a mechanic too, work on tractors, combines and such. When I started at the dealer I had a claw hammer and was asked if I wanted to work on equipment, or build houses. They just have different places.

 

[Indexmill]

Collecting. Because they are so cool.

 

[jvitez]

Collecting. Because they are so cool.

Now THAT's a proper GJ answer.

BTW, I can't believe it's been 8 years since I first replied to this thread. And I never did respond to Coach James's question.

 

[Jim c]

If you happen to have a metal forge ( which heats metal bar stock to an orange or yellow glow for shaping purposes) when you withdraw your bar stock from your forge, you can shape and form it using your hammer and anvil. The ball end of the ball pein hammer is specifically designed and intended for drawing hot metal ( the hot metal is very malleable and you can draw it out in to your desired shape using the round pein end). The large end gives the ball pein a very substantial mass to make the work easier ( and the large mass makes the hammer preferred by mechanics for striking ball joints etc... although the striking is usually accomplished by hitting with the non pein end when working on cars.

 

[Sliding T-Handle]

Very common in Tool and die and die Maintenance. Driving dowel pins with punches. And peening dies to improve burrs, at least good enough to finish a run before coming to the shop. Good for repairing damaged metal after heating it, As stated above.

 

[achirdo]

As a welder I'm not sure where I'd be without my snap on 40oz dead blow ball peen...

 

[Coach James]

Now THAT's a proper GJ answer.

BTW, I can't believe it's been 8 years since I first replied to this thread. And I never did respond to Coach James's question.

I had to go back through the thread to remember what my question was.

Coach

 

[Sliding T-Handle]

Collecting. Because they are so cool.

I just got a Klein 16 oz from Zoro and i like it so much I don't want to use it! I love good brass hammers too. I have some 2" brass H02 bar stock I intend to make a hammer with someday.